The Slender Man (also known asSlenderman) is a fictional supernaturalcharacter that originated as a creepypastaInternet meme created by Something Awfulforums user Eric Knudsen (also known as "Victor Surge") in 2009.[1] He is depicted as a thin, unnaturally tall humanoid with a featureless head and face and wearing a black suit.
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Slender Man
Stories of the Slender Man commonly feature him stalking, abducting or traumatizing people, particularly children.[2] The Slender Man is not confined to a single narrative but appears in many disparate works of fiction, typically composed online.[3][4] Fiction relating to the Slender Man encompasses many media, including literature, art and video series such as Marble Hornets, wherein he is known as The Operator. Outside of online fiction, the Slender Man has become an internet icon and has influenced popular culture, having been referenced in the video game Minecraft with the Enderman character and generated video games of his own, such as Slender: The Eight Pages and Slender: The Arrival. He has also appeared in a film adaptation of Marble Hornets, where he was portrayed by Doug Jones, and an eponymous film, where he was portrayed by Javier Botet.
Beginning in 2014, a moral panic occurred over the Slender Man after readers of his fiction were connected to several violent acts, particularly a near-fatal stabbing of a 12-year-old girl in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
We didn't want to go, we didn't want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time…
— 1983, photographer unknown, presumed dead.[11]
One of two recovered photographs from theStirling City Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as “The Slender Man”. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence.
— 1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986.[11]
On May 31, 2014, two 12-year-old girls inWaukesha, Wisconsin held down and stabbed a 12-year-old classmate 19 times. When questioned later by authorities, they reportedly claimed that they wished to commit a murder as a first step to becoming proxies for the Slender Man, having read about it online.[34]They also stated that they were afraid that Slender Man would kill their families if they did not commit the murder.[35] After the perpetrators left the scene, the victim crawled out of the woods to a roadway. A passing cyclist alerted authorities, and the victim survived the attack. Both attackers have been diagnosed with mental illnesses[36] but have also been charged as adults and are each facing up to 65 years in prison.[37] One of the girls reportedly said Slender Man watches her, can read minds, and could teleport.[34]
Experts testified in court that she also said she conversed with Lord Voldemort and one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. On August 1, 2014, she was found incompetent to stand trial and her prosecution was suspended until her condition improved.[38]On November 12, 2014, a doctor judged that her condition had improved enough for her to stand trial,[39] and on December 19, 2014, the judge ruled that both girls were competent to stand trial.[40] In August 2015, the presiding judge ruled that the girls would be tried as adults.[41] They were tried separately.[42] On August 21, 2017, one of the girls, now 15, pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree homicide, but claimed she was not responsible for her actions on grounds of insanity.[43] Although prosecutors alleged that she knew what she was doing was wrong, the jury determined that she was mentally ill during the attack. She will spend at least three years in a mental hospital.[44][45] On December 21, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren sentenced Weier,[clarification needed] then 16 years-old, to be hospitalized for 25 years from the date of the crime, which would keep her institutionalized until age 37.[46]
